


P.S. You're Cute

by endzela



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Bisexual Jongin, Dancer Kim Jongin | Kai, Eventual Smut, Fluff, I am making this up as I go, Kim Jongin | Kai & Oh Sehun are Best Friends, M/M, Minor Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol, Minor Kim Joonmyun | Suho/Oh Sehun, Minor Original Character(s), Pining, Romance, Sehun is the best friend we all deserve, There's also gonna be some light angst at some point so prepare yourselves, minor side pairings, tbh i have no idea what i am doing lol
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-28
Updated: 2018-10-22
Packaged: 2019-03-25 05:30:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13827504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/endzela/pseuds/endzela
Summary: Jongin accidentally likes Kyungsoo's profile on a dating app.





	1. Chapter 1

”Good night then, Sehun,” Jongin said with a slight stagger in his step as he parted ways with his best friend in front of the apartment building.

“Night. Don’t forget that we have class in the morning!” Sehun yelled after him with a laugh.

Jongin had never had a high tolerance to alcohol – unlike Sehun, who had just sat next to him with a stupid grin on his face as their seniors poured shots for them and urged them to drink more and more – and this time had not been an exception either. It was not fair.

His legs felt heavy and his head was pounding as he climbed the stairs up to the second floor, fighting a few seconds with the door to his apartment when the key got stuck in the lock. It opened after a stern hit, and Jongin kicked his shoes off and fell face first onto his mattress on the floor.

The apartment was quite small – there was just enough space for a bed, a low table, a kitchenette with a refrigerator, and a tiny bathroom where you had to jump over the toilet to be able to take a shower. It had, however, been one of the cheapest student apartments, and he only went there to sleep anyway.

As Jongin lay there, the world spinning around him like he was on a carousel ride, he realized that he was too energetic to sleep but too tired to actually get up and do something, so he fished out his phone and decided to browse through his social media.

Sehun had already uploaded a blurry selfie from the party on twitter, and Jongin rolled his eyes at a comment under the picture that said ‘My oppa is so perfect!!’. If only she knew what Sehun was like in real life.

His gaze landed on a dating app that he faintly remembered Sehun downloading for him two months ago after he had complained to him how he was tired of spending Valentine’s Day alone, and up until now he had completely forgotten it even existed. He dragged it down the screen to delete it, but then his drunken mind told him to stop.

It would not hurt to check it out, right? He could at least try it and see what kind of people used it.

He logged in with his facebook account and set a picture of him drinking a frappuccino in a coffee shop as a profile picture since it was the most recent one, answering also a bunch of personal questions about his school, workplace, preferences, and music taste. All that was left was to write an intriguing profile text.

“What am I like?” he wondered, considering texting Sehun to ask him, but it would expose what he was doing, and he was not ready to give him another reason to tease him. Besides, he was probably dead asleep already.

A set of emojis would do just fine.

His profile was ready, and the app moved on to the next thing: showing people near him.

It took him a couple tries to get the hang of it – swipe left if you do not like them, and swipe right if you do – and his lips stretched into a grin as a whole new world opened up inside his phone.

“She’s kind of cute, isn’t she?” he muttered but swiped left immediately when he read on her profile that she did not like dogs.

It got tiring after a while – all of the profiles blurred together and started to seem similar, and no one really piqued his interest. He swiped mindlessly left and right, right and left, until his eyes stopped to stare at a familiar face.

It was one of his seniors. He did not know Kyungsoo personally since he was majoring in a different subject, but he remembered seeing him sometimes with Chanyeol and Baekhyun, whom Jongin had met at a party during his first year in the university.

He had had no idea that Kyungsoo was also into men.

Jongin clicked onto his profile, but he had not written _anything_ there. Not even his taste in music or what school he attended. It was just a blank page. He also had only one picture of him – a selfie taken in a badly lit bathroom – and it made Jongin wonder whether the profile actually belonged to Kyungsoo or if someone else had made it as a joke.

A huff escaped his mouth and he backed out of the profile to move on to the next person, swiping right.

He had swiped right.

“Oh. Fuck!”

Jongin’s cheeks started burning in embarrassment as he tried to go back to swipe left, and he even searched on the internet how to do it after not managing to find the way himself, but it turned out that it was not possible to go back unless he had a premium account.

With his heart drumming loudly in his chest he waited for something to happen, staring at the screen, but of course nothing happened. Kyungsoo would probably not even notice that Jongin had accidentally liked his profile.

He closed the app, deciding that it was time to go to sleep before he did anything else as stupid.

~*~*~

“If I die here, can you finish writing my assignment?” Jongin mumbled, face pressed on his desk, feeling like someone was drilling holes inside his skull every time he opened his eyes. He made a mental note to never drink on a school night again.

Sehun patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t be so dramatic. You’ll feel better soon. Besides, yesterday was worth it, wasn’t it? You got to talk to the girl that lives near you!”

“You mean Eunbi? She made it quite clear that she’s not interested.” He turned his head on the desk to glare at Sehun. “She thought that you and I are dating because you were clinging to my arm the whole night.”

“Sorry about that,” he grinned, not even a hint of apology in his voice. “But to be honest, I didn’t like her that much anyway. You deserve someone who sweeps you off your feet. Someone who adores you and cooks you food every day and calls you their sweetie-pie and–“

“Enough, I feel sick already,” Jongin groaned.

By the time their lunch break rolled around, Jongin felt slightly better and did not want to suffocate himself to his scarf anymore. The thought of stuffing himself with food sounded almost pleasant since he had skipped breakfast this morning, and he dragged Sehun with him to the school cafeteria before he had time to say no.

“Can’t we eat somewhere else for a change?” Sehun asked, eyeing the menu on the wall with a sneer. “I want fried chicken.”

“No. One: the food here is cheap, two: it’s healthy, and three: you should quit eating fried chicken altogether because you’re a dance major and need to start watching what you eat.”

“Fine,” Sehun huffed. “ _Mom_.”

Jongin raised his eyebrow. “If you’re going to continue calling me your mom, I’m going to have to start disciplining you.”

Sehun tried to keep his face straight, but both of them cracked up when their eyes met.

“You’re an idiot,” Sehun said, still grinning.

“Right back at you.”

The cafeteria was crowded, and Jongin’s headache had started slowly creeping back after being exposed to the sounds of metal chopsticks scraping against plates, chairs squeaking, and people laughing and trying to talk louder than the person they were sitting next to.

Jongin had already finished his food, so he let his eyes wander lazily around the room while he waited for Sehun, resting his chin on his hand. They would have their dance lessons next, and although he was still not feeling very energetic, his feet bounced restlessly under the table. Their classes had been cancelled for the past two weeks because of a water leak in the studio, but now they were finally able to hold the lessons again.

“…you got 99 percent right on that exam? That’s amazing!”

Jongin turned his head just in time to catch Kyungsoo and Chanyeol walking past him, Chanyeol babbling on about their exam and Kyungsoo nodding to him as they walked, looking like his thoughts were somewhere else. Jongin froze and lowered his gaze to stare at the food bowl in front of him, breath caught in his throat.

He had no reason to be so embarrassed about it. He was pretty sure Kyungsoo had not even seen him liking his profile because they had not matched, but it still made him want to throw his phone away and move to Antarctica. What if Kyungsoo _had_ seen it and was now thinking that he actually fancied him? Who knows if he had a premium account that allowed him to see who had swiped his profile right!

Jongin checked his phone, afraid that there would be some sort of notification from him on the dating app.

Nothing.

He let out a sigh of relief.

“What’s up with you?” Sehun asked, seeming to have noticed his crisis.

“Let’s go. I want to drop by my apartment to change clothes before going to the practice,” Jongin said without answering his question and was already on his way to return the tray.

Later in the evening when Jongin had taken a shower, changed into a pair of sweatpants, and plopped down at the table to do his unfinished assignment for his art history class, his phone vibrated on the floor. For a moment he thought that it was Kyungsoo, and with sweaty palms he opened the notification just to see that he had gotten a match with someone else named Yuna.

“Stop being like this,” he told himself, shaking his head.

Yuna wrote him a message, asking him what he was doing, and Jongin wanted to answer but knew that he had to concentrate on his assignment for now, so he put his phone away and did not remember it until he was lying on his bed, the blanket pulled comfortably up to his chin, forming a warm nest around him. A quick glance at the green numbers on the alarm clock told him that it was too late to reply, so he decided to just leave the answering for tomorrow.

He was just about to fall asleep when his phone vibrated again, startling him awake. He thought about ignoring it, but his curiosity got the better of him and he gave up, bringing the screen close to his face, squinting at the sudden brightness.

He had matched with Kyungsoo.

Soon the phone vibrated once more, and this time there was a message.

‘ _Hey._ ’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, I hope you enjoyed reading the first chapter! I'm slowly trying to get back to writing after a writer's block, and I just wanted to write something fun and something that I didn't have to plan that much beforehand. I'll try to update this as often as I can, but I'm quite busy with school at the moment, so sometimes it might take a while. This is also not beta read, so feel free to point out if there are any errors.
> 
> Comments and kudos are much appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2

Jongin stared at his phone.

He stopped staring only when the screen went black and he was forced to blink and turn the screen back on and face the reality.

Should he unmatch him? It would be rude, though, because Kyungsoo was older than him, and Jongin had kind of made the first move by liking his profile first. And he did not want to make him feel bad either. Maybe he could just play it off as wanting to be friends with him?

‘ _Hi_ ,’ Jongin wrote back. Simple and casual – no need to overdo it.

It took Kyungsoo a minute to reply. ‘ _Oh, sorry, did I wake you up?_ ’

Jongin let out a chuckle. At least Kyungsoo had realized that it was almost one in the morning.

‘ _Not really_ ,’ he lied. ‘ _How come you’re still awake?_ ’

‘ _A bad habit._ ’

There was a long pause, and he was about to start writing his own reply, but then another message popped up.

‘ _I’m actually just looking for friends through this app_.’

Although he had planned to say the same thing, his heart dropped – it was stupid, really, thinking that Kyungsoo would obviously be attracted to him – and he sent him a smiley face, writing, _‘Me too.’_

‘ _That’s good… I’ll let you sleep now._ ’

‘ _Yeah. Talk to you later_.’

The conversation left him feeling weird and not knowing what he thought of Kyungsoo. He had always seen him as kind of a strange, reserved person, who seemed out of place in big crowds and parties, but on the other hand he had never really talked to him properly, so he had no idea what he was like in reality.

It frustrated him to no end, and he ended up tossing and turning in his bed for what felt like hours until he finally managed to fall into an exhausted slumber.

The morning was not any better.

He woke up late, and with half of his brain still asleep he had to run all the way to the school building, his hair sticking out in every direction and undershirt all sweaty as he reached the dance studio.

“Did you have a fun night?” Junmyeon asked him with a teasing smile when he came in, motioning for him to start stretching with everyone else.

“He probably couldn’t sleep because you worked us to death yesterday, Teacher,” Sehun answered for him from the corner.

Jongin sent him a grateful look, taking a place next to his classmate Mina, who was doing the splits on the floor and braiding her bubblegum pink hair at the same time.

“Then I’m sorry to tell you this, but it’s only going to get rougher from now on. In fact, now that you’re all here, I’m going to use this chance to remind you that you’re going to have to start planning your choreographies for the competition soon,” Junmyeon explained. “They should be longer and more difficult than the one you did during your first year for the school festival. Three minutes is the minimum time, so choose your songs accordingly.”

“Is it possible to join the competition as a group?” Mina asked.

“I’m afraid not. This year they only want single performances.”

Some of the students groaned as a protest, and Junmyeon let out a laugh.

“Think of it this way: it’s easier to capture the attention of the judges when you’re alone on the stage,” he said. “There are four other schools attending the national competition, and only five students get to go to the international one, so you should give it all you’ve got. Even though this is your first competition and your seniors are competing against you, I believe in all of you!”

“Somehow you don’t sound very convincing,” Sehun commented again, earning a gentle slap on the head from Junmyeon and an order to stretch more, talk less.

After the practice Jongin stood in front of a mirror and touched a sore, red spot on his left knee he had fallen on during the class, and he was pretty sure that it would turn into a huge bruise later. Sehun appeared behind him, poking his side, and Jongin slapped his hand away with a laugh.

“Don’t touch me, you jerk,” huffed Jongin, trying to be serious. “It’s your fault that my attention was elsewhere and I slipped.”

“Yet you still love me,” Sehun grinned, drying his wet hair with a towel.

“No, I don’t,” he said and threw a used sock at Sehun as a revenge, watching amusedly as Sehun shrieked and took two steps back, hitting the back of his head on an open locker door. “Do you know Kyungsoo-sunbae?”

“Which Kyungsoo?” he asked, rubbing the spot he had hit, grimacing.

“The one who hangs out with Baekhyun-sunbae and Chanyeol-sunbae.”

“Oh, you mean Do Kyungsoo? Of course I know him. Well, I don’t _know_ him, but I know him. His family owns the hospital near the school,” Sehun said.

“They do?” Jongin sat down on the bench, baffled.

“What, you seriously didn’t know? You’ve been there a zillion times! Some of his family members have probably even treated your injuries there.”

He had, in fact, seen Kyungsoo at the hospital a couple of times, but he had always thought that he was there to see someone or get treated himself. It had never crossed his mind that Kyungsoo would be helping his family.

“Why do you ask?” Sehun interrupted his thoughts.

“I was just curious, that’s all.”

“Already getting over Eunbi?” he joked.

“Shut up or I’m going to throw my other sock at you.” He raised his hand.

Junmyeon walked in to the changing room just as Jongin had said that, and Sehun jumped behind him, using him as a shield, and their height difference made it even more comical due to Sehun being almost ten centimeters taller than him.

“He’s bullying me!” Sehun whined like a kid to his mother.

“Alright, alright. Enough, both of you,” Junmyeon sighed, already used to their bickering. “Are you elementary school students or in a university? You better hurry up changing before your classes start. And remember to start thinking about your performances.”

“Yeees, Teacher,” they both said at the same time and went back to putting on clothes.

Kyungsoo did not message Jongin that day.

Nor the next day.

Jongin’s conversation with Yuna had died out pretty soon after he had realized that he felt zero attraction to her, never mind that she was pretty, and he had yet to talk to two of his other matches. He told himself that he had to concentrate on his essays and dance classes, but the more time passed, the more he wanted to delete them from his phone.

It was a late Sunday morning when he was cooking himself breakfast, watching a drama on his phone as the eggs and sausages were sizzling on the frying pan, and a notification popped up at the top of his phone screen. It was from Kyungsoo.

He almost dropped his phone into the pan, but the earphones that had tangled around his hand saved it, and when he was at a safe distance from the stove, he opened the message.

‘ _Are you free today?_ ’

Jongin started immediately writing a reply but waited two minutes before sending it in order to not seem like he had been desperately waiting for his message. Because he had not. ‘ _Sure. Do you have something in mind?_ ’

‘ _I got free movie tickets that I have to use today. Would you like to go with me?_ ’

‘ _Of course. Let me just finish up my breakfast and I’m good to go_.’

They agreed to meet in an hour in front of the shopping mall near their school, and Jongin had never eaten his breakfast as fast as he did now. He took a quick shower and stood in front of his wardrobe for fifteen minutes, trying to decide which clothes he should pick and then ending up having to put on a pair of skinny jeans and a white sweater that he almost always wore because he was running out of time. Half-way down the stairs he remembered that it was still not warm enough to go out without a jacket, and he sprinted back to his apartment.

Kyungsoo had not arrived yet when Jongin got to the mall, so he parked himself near the wall where he would see everyone who tried to approach him.

People moved up and down the busy street, carrying big shopping bags and walking hand in hand with their boyfriends and girlfriends, laughing and talking. An old lady was trying to sell magazines to every passer-by, and a sweaty jogger stopped to buy a drink from the vending machine next to Jongin. Although it was sunny, Jongin shivered under his jacket and had to blow hot air on his hands.

“Jongin-ah!”

He turned towards the voice, startled, and saw Chanyeol, Baekhyun and, at last, Kyungsoo walking out of the mall through the sliding doors. Chanyeol waved at him, smiling widely, and Jongin responded to his greeting with a surprised smile and a small bow.

He had expected Kyungsoo to be alone, but now that he thought about it, it would have been odd since it was their first time meeting. Of course it would be more comfortable for both of them if there were other people too.

It did not make him stop feeling disappointed, though.

“Sorry that we’re a little bit late. Baekhyun got stuck in the restroom and we had to call the maintenance,” Chanyeol apologized.

“You don’t have to tell it to everyone,” Baekhyun mumbled, giving Chanyeol a glare like he wanted to tape his mouth shut.

“You already know each other?” Kyungsoo asked, looking between them with wide eyes. His voice was much softer than Jongin had imagined.

Chanyeol let out a laugh and wrapped his giant arm around Jongin’s shoulders. “Yep. I dared him to dance on a table at Minseok-hyung’s party last year.”

“Without knowing that he was a dance major,” Baekhyun added with a grin. “He pulled a full choreographed dance on us!”

“I see,” nodded Kyungsoo.

Jongin laughed at the embarrassing memory, relaxing slightly, and Chanyeol let go of his shoulders to attack Baekhyun’s instead.

He would have to be extra careful with his language around three of his seniors, but otherwise the day might just turn out to be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! I never know what to say in these notes, but this chapter was fun to write and I hope you liked it too. I kinda wanted to bring out the differences between how juniors talk to seniors in Korea and vice versa, but since English doesn't have the same kind of formal speech that Korea has, I decided to leave it out and only use some of the name suffixes. I still don't know some of their rules though (do Korean people use 'sunbae' when talking about a third person who's not present??) because I've only studied Japanese and I'm not sure if the rules are the same in both countries, so please tell me if they're wrong. :D Anyway, thank you for reading! I'll try to update the next chapter as soon as I can.


	3. Chapter 3

Baekhyun and Chanyeol led the way, and Kyungsoo slowed down his pace to walk beside Jongin. Now that he was able to take a good look at him, Jongin noted that he looked quite different in a black turtleneck from the Kyungsoo that always wore a button-up shirt and a pair of dress pants to school.

“I hope you don’t mind that I brought my friends with me,” Kyungsoo said quietly.

“Oh, no, it’s fine,” Jongin blurted, feeling like he had lost his ability to form coherent sentences.

Kyungsoo gave him a small smile. “We won the movie tickets from a game today. Or, well, Chanyeol did.”

“So they weren’t actually ‘free’?”

“They are. For you,” he clarified.

“Should I still pay for my ticket?” Jongin started reaching for his wallet, but Kyungsoo shook his head.

“There’s no need. I was the one who invited you anyway.”

They walked through the mall in silence, listening to Chanyeol and Baekhyun chatter away. Kyungsoo did not seem to mind it, but Jongin felt like he had to say something – anything – and as they arrived to the escalator that would take them to the fourth floor where the movie theatre was, he cleared his throat and opened his mouth.

“I heard from my friend Sehun that your family owns the hospital near the school. Do you work there often?”

Great. Why did he have to make it sound so awkward?

Kyungsoo was silent, and for a moment Jongin thought that he had not heard his question. “Yes, I do help them out sometimes. I don’t have my medical degree yet though, so I can’t do much there.” He shifted, scratching his neck. “What about you? I remember seeing you dance at the school festival last year. Are you going to participate this year too?”

“You saw me?” Jongin could not hold back his grin. “But no, only the first year students do that. From second year onward we take part in the Korean National Dance Competiton, and the winners get to go to the international competition that’s held in China. There’d be no time for us to get ready for the school festival.”

“I’m sure you’ll be one of the winners. You have a lot of charisma when you’re on stage,” he said.

Maybe Kyungsoo was just being polite, but Jongin felt all bubbly inside that someone had noticed him and remembered his performance. It had been his first time choreographing a dance by himself, and there had been a lot of stupid mistakes like almost falling over the stage after calculating the movement wrong, but in the end he had loved every moment of it.

“Will you come cheer for me then?” Jongin asked. It was only meant to be a joke, but Kyungsoo’s eyes widened, so he quickly added, “And, uh, Chanyeol-sunbae and Baekhyun-sunbae should come too. The competition is not too far from here.”

“Sunbae?” Chanyeol interrupted. “You should call us hyung. We’re all friends here, right? No need to be so formal.”

Baekhyun nodded approvingly. “And of course we’ll come! Just let us know when it is. But right now we have to decide which movie we’re going to watch.”

They all gathered around the screen that showed which films were being played at the moment, and Jongin did not recognize any of them. He rarely even went to the theater because renting a DVD and watching it at Sehun’s place while wearing a pajama was much comfier.

“Should we go see the new horror film?” Baekhyun suggested. “It starts in half an hour, and based on the trailer it seemed good. It has ghosts and demons.”

Jongin’s heart stopped.

“Oh yeah, that sounds good! Is it okay with you, Jongin?” Chanyeol turned to him.

“Of course, I love horror movies,” he said with a hollow voice.

“Good, it’s decided then!” beamed Chanyeol. “Let’s go buy some snacks! And this time you’re not getting any from me, Baekhyun.”

“But I always share my snacks with you!”

“I don’t care. The last time you stole almost all of my nachos and I had to settle for your crappy onion popcorns.”

Jongin followed them as they went to reserve the seats and then started to discuss what they wanted to eat and drink, and the whole time he was trying to psych himself up in order to not come up with some excuse and leave the theater for good.

It was just a movie. There were others surrounding him. The ghosts were just people under all that heavy makeup, and if the worse came to the worst, he could always try to concentrate on thinking how the special effects were made. He could do this.

But in the end, even after all of the mental preparation, he could not do it.

Ten minutes into the movie he was already sweating cold sweat, and fifteen minutes after that he was clutching the armrest like his life depended on it. Their seats were close to the front row, and the dark theater and loud speakers made every jumpscare hundred times worse. He prayed that the gasping and giggling of the audience covered up the way his breath hitched in his throat when the camera zoomed in on the ghost’s mutilated face.

“Jongin-ah,” he heard Kyungsoo whisper to him from his side, the warm air from his mouth tickling his ear, distracting him from the movie. “I feel a little bit sick. Do you mind coming with me outside?”

“Are you alright?” he whispered back, slightly confused, but did not hesitate to follow him.

Once they were out, Kyungsoo took the phone out of his pocket and started typing. “I’ll text Chanyeol that we left because I wasn’t feeling well. They’re probably confused by now.”

“Do you need to sit down?” Jongin asked, not sure if it was appropriate to offer to help him walk if needed.

“Oh, no, I’m okay now. Let’s go grab a coffee somewhere.”

And suddenly he understood.

“Sunbae– I mean, _hyung_ , I’m really sorry,” he apologized.

“For what?” There was a glint in Kyungsoo’s eyes, and he smiled. “It was a bad movie anyway.”

The café they went to was full, but they managed to find an empty couch from the corner, although the person sitting across them gave them an angry glance over his laptop for invading his table. Their knees bumped together when they tried to find a position where they could talk to each other and sit comfortably, and Jongin sipped his black coffee, burning the rooftop of his mouth and almost spilling the drink on his shirt because of that.

“I never would have guessed that you liked marshmallows and whipped cream,” stated Jongin, trying to cover up that his mouth was still hurting, nodding towards Kyungsoo’s hot chocolate.

The tips of his ears flushed red. “I… don’t actually. I just didn’t hear what the girl at the counter asked, so I said yes.”

Jongin snorted. “Do you want me to get you another one?”

“I think I can live with this,” he laughed, eyes twinkling, and something stirred inside Jongin. “So have you found a song for the competition yet?”

“Uh, not yet. I can’t decide whether I want a Korean or a foreign song.”

In reality, he had not given a single thought for the competition yet. He had listened to some potential songs, but none of them had given him any inspiration for the choreography. Last year Junmyeon had picked the songs for them since the teachers had wanted the school festival to have a certain theme, but this time he would have to do everything himself.

“Both are good options. I’m definitely not an expert, but the song should probably convey your emotions somehow,” Kyungsoo advised and then locked his eyes with him. “How do you feel?”

“Right now?” Jongin swallowed under his intense stare.

The moment broke when Kyungsoo’s phone started ringing. It was one of those default ringtones your phone automatically set for you, and Jongin would have found it funny if it had not been for Kyungsoo’s whole body turning stiff, his eyebrows furrowing slightly and his lips stretching into a thin line, when he saw who was calling.

“Sorry, I have to take this one,” he said and put the phone on his ear, turning away slightly like he was creating an invisible wall between them. “Yes, Father?”

Jongin felt like he was invading Kyungsoo’s privacy, so he started playing with his phone and tried not to eavesdrop too much. Sehun had sent him a message asking where he was and if he wanted to come play Overwatch with him, and Jongin told him that he was out with a friend.

‘ _And who’s this ‘friend’? Should I be worried?_ ’ Sehun wrote back.

‘ _Not telling you_.’

“Alright. I understand. I’ll be there soon.” Kyungsoo finished the conversation with a sigh. “I’m afraid that my father needs me at the hospital. I’ll drop you off at your place.”

“You have a car?” Jongin’s eyebrows shot up. He did not even own a bicycle. “But, er, I live close by, so I can walk. I wouldn’t want to bother you.”

“It’s no bother. I don’t want to make you walk in that freezing weather,” he insisted.

“Well… Okay then,” he finally agreed and drank the rest of his coffee with one gulp.

They took an elevator to the underground parking garage, and Jongin noticed that Kyungsoo still had that same expression on his face as he had had when he had talked on the phone. It was not his place to ask about it, so he bit his tongue and kept quiet.

As they got to the car – a black Hyundai, that being the limit to Jongin’s knowledge of cars – Kyungsoo opened the door for him, making him wonder whether he was as considerate towards his other friends. He happily accepted the gesture, though.

“Is your car always this tidy?” Jongin asked after taking a good look around him. The floor seemed to have been just vacuumed clean, there were no empty bottles or trash anywhere, and the windows were spotless. It also had the smell of a new car, reminding him of tire stores he had visited with his father when he was young.

“Um, yes,” Kyungsoo responded. “Cleaning helps me relieve stress.”

“You’re amazing, hyung,” he marveled. “If you’re ever stressed out, you can come clean up my apartment.”

Kyungsoo finally smiled again. “I’ll hold you to that.”

It was a five-minute-drive to the campus area, and with Jongin’s instructions Kyungsoo found the right apartment building and stopped the car in front of the entrance.

“Thank you for inviting me today. I had fun.”

“Me too. See you tomorrow at school.”

Jongin stayed outside to watch Kyungsoo drive away, and as he turned to open the front door, a wide smile spread across his face. The movie had been a disaster, but Kyungsoo had turned out to be much nicer than he had imagined. And now he finally knew which song he was going to pick for the competition.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! I'm really happy to see so many new readers, thank you so much for taking interest in my fic and giving me your support! <3


	4. Chapter 4

”One, two, three… Start!”

Music blasted from the speakers, and Jongin’s body started moving to the fast beat. Two steps right, one forward, and a spin to the left. He glanced at Sehun in the mirror and smiled at how concentrated he looked. Dancing seemed to be the only thing that made his face get all serious.

“Mina, straighten your back,” Junmyeon commented as he circled around them and examined their every move with arms crossed across his chest. “Sehun, loosen up your shoulders a bit. And Jiyoung, try to keep up with everyone else.”

They struck their final poses as the song ended, staying like that until Junmyeon let them relax. A trickle of sweat ran down Jongin’s forehead, and he wiped it away with the sleeve of his shirt.

“Good job everyone. I think we should end today’s class here. Also, now that everyone has submitted their songs for the competition, I’m going to put a list on the door where you can reserve the studio for two hours every week to practice your choreographies. You should write your full name under the hour you want to reserve this room,” Junmyeon explained while everyone started stretching or packing up their stuff.

“Sehun-ah, do you want to go somewhere today?” asked Jongin and took a large sip from his water bottle. He was tempted to open the lid and pour the water over himself to get rid of the nasty, sweaty feeling.

“Sorry, I can’t. I have to go to work,” he sighed. “The manager called me this morning and told me that the guy who was supposed to be working today got sick and asked if I could cover for his shift. Honestly, fuck both of them. Today was supposed to be my day off.”

“Aw, at least you’ll get extra money,” Jongin said, trying to make him feel better. “And with that money you can buy me lunch tomorrow.”

He rolled his eyes. “In your dreams, Kim Jongin.”

It had been over a week now since Jongin had last seen Kyungsoo. They had messaged each other on the dating app almost every night, and he had caught glimpses of him in the hallways from time to time, but he had always been in a hurry from one class to another, and Kyungsoo had always seemed busy with talking to other people, so he had never stopped to talk to him. He had wanted to, of course, but who would willingly embarrass themselves in front of a group of seniors? Not him, at least.

Sehun had to leave before him, so Jongin took his time in the changing room, lying alone on a cold bench for ten minutes, going through his social media. He was feeling too lazy to take a shower, and the first year students would probably start pouring in soon anyway, so he decided to go home first.

Putting on a warm hoodie over his training shirt, he headed outside with headphones on and his black gym bag hanging on his shoulder. He was humming along the song that was playing on his phone, but he stopped abruptly when he saw the back of a familiar figure sitting on the edge of a brick tree ring in the school yard.

“Hyung?”

Kyungsoo turned around and his face lit up like the last rays of the sun above them. “Hi, Jongin. I was just about to text you. Have you eaten yet?”

“Not yet,” he said while becoming too aware of his own appearance and the fact that he probably smelled like he had spent a week in a dumpster. He should have taken that shower. Or _at least_ looked in the mirror before leaving the changing room.

“Good. I was wondering if you’d like to grab a bite with me.”

“I just finished my dance practice, so, uh… Should we go to my place and order takeaway?” he suggested and tried to recall what state he had left it in and whether it would be suitable for bringing guests over.

“Um, sure, if you’re okay with that.”

When they got to his apartment, Jongin slowly cracked the door open and peeked inside. Relief washed over him; he had actually remembered to take the trash out and put his dirty clothes into a lidded laundry basket. There were still unwashed dishes and school books lying around everywhere, but it was not as bad as it could have been.

“Sorry, my apartment is a little bit cramped. But make yourself at home.” He threw his gym bag in the corner and started gathering all of his stuff away from the table so that Kyungsoo could sit there more comfortably.

“It’s nice,” Kyungsoo stated as he glanced around and took a seat on a thin pillow on the floor. “It has a cozy atmosphere.”

Jongin let out a laugh and rubbed his neck. “Thank you. Anyway, what do you want to eat? I’m fine with whatever.”

“Err,” Kyungsoo paused, “Pizza? And kimchi.”

Pizza was definitely not included in Jongin’s diet, but he reckoned that one time would not hurt anyone. Besides, he had not eaten pizza in months.

Ordering them two seafood pizzas and some side dishes from a restaurant that Sehun had recommended him one time, he then turned to Kyungsoo and asked, “Do you mind if I take a shower? I’m still sweaty from the dance practice.”

“Oh, no, go ahead. I’ll wait here in case the delivery comes.”

Once Jongin was alone, a locked door between him and Kyungsoo, a shaky breath escaped his lips as he leaned against the sink. It had been stupid of him to invite Kyungsoo over. What had he even been thinking? What if they ran out of topics to talk about?

His tense muscles relaxed slightly under the embrace of the steaming hot water, making his thoughts fuzzy. It would only last about five minutes, though, and then the water would turn freezing-cold. He could not count the times he had forgotten it and had been half-way through shampooing his hair when he had suddenly been standing under a melting iceberg.

As he shut off the shower and started drying himself with a soft towel, he realized that he had not brought clean clothes with him.

_Great._

He stood there, contemplating life and death and whether it was worse to leave the bathroom while only wearing a towel or putting his smelly clothes back on. The thought of having to wear the same clothes after a refreshing shower was disgusting, but would Kyungsoo take it the wrong way if he showed up half-naked in front of him?

“To hell with it,” he mumbled, wrapped the towel around his waist and stepped outside.

“That was quick,” Kyungsoo stated, looking up from the book he had been reading.

His lips parted slightly and he froze like a statue, eyes wide.

Then he blinked and teared his gaze away.

“Uh, yeah. I didn’t want you to have to wait for me too long,” Jongin said and swallowed down his embarrassment, marching up to his closet and grabbing the first pair of clothes he saw. “What are you reading?”

“The Study of Neuroscience,” Kyungsoo replied, keeping his eyes down as Jongin started putting on his clothes.

“Sounds… Fairly interesting.”

“It’s horrible,” huffed Kyungsoo. “I don’t understand how this guy manages to make everything sound so boring and difficult.”

“Are you saying that neuroscience isn’t difficult?” Jongin plopped down next to him after he had gotten properly dressed again. He tried really hard to forget what had just happened.

“Well… It doesn’t have to be.”

“Right, Doctor Kyungsoo.”

“Don’t call me that,” he laughed, ears turning red.

“Call you what, Doctor?” Jongin could not help himself from teasing him. “Do you want a beer? I think I still have two of them left in the fridge.”

“Is there anything non-alcoholic? I still have to drive home.”

Jongin stretched out his arm to open the fridge from where he was sitting. “Orange juice?”

“Yes, please.”

Their pizzas arrived soon after that, filling the room with the smell of shrimp and melting cheese. Jongin’s mouth watered at the sight, and he moaned softly as he bit into it.

“Is it that good?” Kyungsoo watched him eat with amusement.

“My diet is very strict, so I rarely eat junk food,” he explained. “I have to stay in shape, you know.”

“Life of a dancer must be hard,” Kyungsoo said while stuffing his face with kimchi, and then he added, “You have… sauce on your face.”

“What? Where?” He wiped the part of his face Kyungsoo was gesturing towards with the back of his hand. “Is it gone?”

Kyungsoo put down his chopsticks and leaned closer, and as he used his thumb to touch the corner of Jongin’s lip to wipe the sauce away, Jongin’s mind went completely blank. “There. Now it’s gone.”

Jongin had to force his heart to calm down.

That had been… strange, to say the least. Maybe he had just imagined it, but he could have sworn that Kyungsoo’s thumb had lingered there for a millisecond longer than necessary.

It must have been his imagination.

They ended up watching funny dog videos on his phone after finishing eating, and to his delight, Kyungsoo seemed to be a dog person too. He told him that his family owned two Pomeranians, and Jongin felt like crying when Kyungsoo showed him pictures of them playing around with toys.

“The white one is Jongsuk and the brown one is Joongki.”

Jongin chortled. “Why do they have such weird names? They’re so cute…”

Kyungsoo looked like he had been afraid of that question, and he sighed. “My mother named them after her favorite actors… I feel so embarrassed every time I have to call out their names.”

“I bet you secretly enjoy it.”

“Don’t test your luck,” Kyungsoo said and raised his eyebrows, but then he smiled. “Anyway, I think I should head back. It’s getting late.”

“Are you sure? I don’t mind staying up,” Jongin said, but a yawn betrayed him.

“Yeah, I’m sure. We have a test in the morning, so I need to prepare for that a little bit.”

He walked Kyungsoo to the entrance door – at first he had been ready to walk him back to school where his car was parked, but Kyungsoo had insisted that the entrance was enough – and just as they were about to wave each other goodbye, he remembered that he still did not have Kyungsoo’s phone number.

“Should we exchange numbers? In case we have to, uh, call each other,” he said. It sounded like an excuse, which it kind of was, if he was honest with himself.

“I was actually thinking about the same thing,” Kyungsoo confessed.

Jongin saved his number on Kyungsoo’s phone under the name ‘Jongin :):)’, and since he had left his own phone back to his apartment, Kyungsoo promised to text him later so that he could get his number too.

And just as he had said, a green light was blinking on Jongin’s phone when he climbed back up, notifying him of a new unread message.

‘ _Good night Jonginnie._ ’

It was enough to make him bury his face in a pillow and let out a muffled giggle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should be writing an essay at the moment, but I really wanted to upload another chapter for you guys, so here you go! If you're wondering how many cliches there are going to be in this fic, well... Probably a lot because I love them. XD You can't take them away from me!! 
> 
> These first chapters are mostly going to be about Jongin and Kyungsoo getting to know each other, but there will be some stuff happening later, so I hope you'll look forward to it.
> 
> As always, thank you so much for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

Jongin’s ballpoint pen stopped over his notebook, and he gave Sehun a puzzled look. “Huh?”

Closing his textbook, Sehun folded his hands over the table, looking like a cop who was about to start questioning him over a crime. “Did you really think I wouldn’t notice? You’ve had this stupid grin on your face the whole week and you can’t stop checking your phone. So spill it.”

“There isn’t anything to tell…”

Sehun squinted.

It was hard to fool him.

“Okay. Fine.” Running a hand through his hair, Jongin took a deep breath. “Remember that dating app you downloaded for me?”

“Go on.”

“It’s not like I was intentionally looking for someone. I was bored and wasted, and I happened to open it and–“ He realized that he was rambling. “Anyway. I matched with Kyungsoo-hyung, and we’ve hung out together a few times and texted each other. He even came to my place to eat dinner once.”

“Really?” Sehun could not hold back his amused smirk. “You two are dating?”

“No!” Jongin blurted, glancing around like someone could be listening to them. “He said that he’s only looking for friends. So that’s that.”

“He’s on a dating site to find friends? Somehow I doubt that.”

“You don’t know his reasons.”

“You’re right, I don’t. But more importantly, do _you_ like him?”

He opened his mouth to answer, but suddenly he was not sure what to say. Did he like Kyungsoo? He was definitely drawn to him, and he definitely found him fascinating, and his heart definitely skipped a beat every time he saw a notification from him on his phone, but liking him? He did not want to think about it. Not yet. Not now.

“Speaking of which, aren’t those Baekhyun-sunbae and Chanyeol-sunbae?” Sehun interrupted his thoughts and nodded towards the entrance of the library.

Jongin turned around in his chair.

Chanyeol was carrying a tall pile of heavy-looking books meanwhile Baekhyun was sipping a juice box, glancing around, seeming to be looking for an empty table. His eyes met with Jongin, and he smiled at him and started tugging at Chanyeol’s sleeve to make him follow him.

“Are you here to study for the midterms as well?” Baekhyun asked them as he got closer.

“We don’t really have a choice since there’s only a little over a week left,” Jongin laughed. “I believe you haven’t met my friend Sehun yet. He’s majoring in dancing too.” He left out the part of Sehun knowing already who they were since Jongin had told him about the incident at the party.

“How come all of the dance majors are so good-looking?” Baekhyun huffed and gave Sehun a friendly nod. “Baekhyun. And this buffoon here is Chanyeol. Let’s be friends, yeah?”

“Jongin’s friends are my friends,” Sehun smiled.

They all huddled together around the same table. Chanyeol spread out the books, taking up half of the space, and the chips and cookies that Baekhyun dug out of his bag took the rest. They were clearly prepared for studying until the evening.

“So,” Jongin started, trying to keep his voice as casual as he could, “Kyungsoo-hyung’s not with you?”

“He had to run some errands at the hospital,” Chanyeol replied while opening one of the books. “I can call him if you want and ask when he’s free.”

“It’s okay. I was just wondering where he was,” Jongin hurried to say. The last thing he wanted was to make himself seem clingy. Kyungsoo was a busy person, and he would probably get annoyed if he kept bothering him all the time. Especially when he was working.

“If you’re sure,” Chanyeol replied. “By the way, we’re thinking of having a get-together at Baekhyun’s place right after the midterms. You two should come. It’s nothing big; a few of our friends and maybe some girls; so you won’t feel uncomfortable. Kyungsoo promised to come too.” He grinned.

It made Jongin wonder if Kyungsoo had told him how they had gotten to know each other.

“Yeah, we’ll come! We could use some time to relax before we get busy with our dancing schedule again,” Sehun answered without giving Jongin time to think about it.

“It’s decided then! It’ll be fun.”

~*~*~

The humid, chilly air promised rain for the night. The cherry trees scattered around the streets and the school yard had finally started showing signs of blooming soon, a week later than last year, just in time for the midterms. Jongin’s steps echoed against the asphalt as he walked back home, neck hurting from being hunched over his school books for so long.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol had gotten surprisingly concentrated on their studies after their short conversation, so Sehun and Jongin had not dared to talk that much either, except for the occasional ‘will this be a part of the test too?’ and ‘yeah, didn’t the professor underline it on the blackboard?’. Jongin had wanted to call it quits earlier, but his pride had prevented him from leaving before his seniors, even after he had been left there alone with them when Sehun had had to catch a train to Busan since it was going to be his mother's birthday tomorrow.

Jongin wished he could have gone with him, but instead he had just handed him a card and told him to congratulate her for him.

 His phone started ringing in his pocket, startling him.

_“’Cause space is just a word made up by someone who’s afraid to get too close.”_

It was the same song he had picked for the competition, and he knew exactly who was calling.

“Hey,” he answered, a smile spreading on his face.

“Jongin? Are you busy?” asked Kyungsoo on the other end.

Jongin stopped to stand under a streetlight. “No, I'm just heading home. Why? Is something wrong?”

"Everything’s okay,” he hummed, but he sounded tired. “I’m having a break right now and I have to go back to work soon, but I felt like talking to you for a while.”

“You’re still at the hospital?” Jongin checked his wrist. It was already eight. “Doesn’t your father know that you still have to attend school and study?” The words just slipped out of his mouth, and he was horrified. He had definitely just crossed a line he was not supposed to.

Fortunately Kyungsoo huffed out a laugh. “He thinks he’s doing me a favor for letting me work here. Sometimes I just wish he would–” he stopped, and Jongin did not have to hear the rest of the sentence to know what he wanted to say. “Enough about me. How was your day?”

“Studying, studying, and studying. I think my head is so full of new information that it’s impossible for me to absorb any more,” he complained. “Oh, and Chanyeol-hyung invited me and Sehun to a get-together after the midterms. I heard you’re coming too.”

“I am?”

“Wait – why are you surprised? He didn’t ask you?”

“No… But I guess I could come to keep an eye on him so that he won’t try to make you drink too much. He and Baekhyun love drinking games, so beware.”

Jongin groaned. He had never liked drinking games because he was always the one who ended up having to drink at every turn. “I’ll keep that in mind. Shouldn’t they be against drinking alcohol? Being medical students and all that.”

“Try telling them that.” Jongin could practically hear him shake his head. “Alright, I think I have to get back to work now. Thanks for talking to me. Hearing your voice cheered me up.”

“Text me when you get back home?”

A chuckle. “I will.”

The next morning Jongin woke up shivering with cold. He groggily searched for his blanket with his eyes closed, pulling it back up and trying to fall asleep again, but his body was screaming for water. He managed to ignore his sandpaper-like mouth for a solid minute, but then he gave up and crawled up to the sink, dragging the blanket with him.

Nothing came out of the faucet.

He tried turning it on and off, on and off, but nothing happened. Was he still dreaming? He slapped himself a few times. Going to the bathroom to try if he could get water from there, he came to the realization that the water had been cut off. Same thing must have happened with the electricity since he was not able to turn on the lights.

A quick check on his bank account told him that, yes, he had remembered to pay his bills, so it was not his fault this time. And he would have probably received some sort of notification letter if he had forgotten to pay them anyway. Was there something wrong with the apartment? Or maybe with the whole building?

Not wanting to leave his apartment, he called his landlord.

A nasal-voiced man greeted him. “Hello?”

Jongin cleared his throat. “This is Kim Jongin from the apartment number 209,” he introduced himself, starting to walk in a circle. “My water and electricity have been cut off, even though I’ve paid my bills on time, and I was wondering if there are any problems I should know of.”

“Haven’t you gotten the notification? I sent one to every resident three months ago. We have to do some maintenance to the building, and the water and electricity will be cut off until Monday evening,” he answered.

Fuck.

Jongin shuffled through a pile of unopened letters, and there it was: a notification from his landlord. He had thought that it was nothing important, so he had forgotten all about it as soon as he had turned his back.

“Is there any chance that you might finish the maintenance earlier?” He tried not to sound desperate.

“No, unfortunately. Again, I apologize if this causes any trouble.”

“Not at all,” he lied. “Alright, thank you.”

The next person he called answered the phone with an annoyed grunt.

“Sehun!”

“Why are you calling me this early?” Sehun demanded, sounding like he would hang up if he did not receive a reasonable explanation within the next five seconds.

After explaining the situation to him, Jongin was on the verge of panicking. “What do I do? I can’t use the toilet or take a shower, I can’t make food or charge my phone, my apartment is freezing…” He pulled the blanket tighter around himself to demonstrate his words, even though he knew that Sehun was not there to see it.

“Wow, I'm speechless,” Sehun stated. “What do you want me to do about it? You know I’m in Busan right now. It would take me almost three hours to get back to Seoul.”

“I know. I’m an idiot.” Jongin stared at the white wall like it would have all the answers. “I even reserved the dance studio for tomorrow.”

Sehun yawned. “Call Kyungsoo and ask if you could stay at his place until Monday.”

“No!”

“Why not? I’m sure he’ll help you. Just. Ask. Him. This is a chance to get to know him better. What's the worst that could happen?”

“But–“

“Call him. I’m going back to sleep now, okay?”

“Wait–“ There was a click. “He seriously hang up? That asshole.”

Jongin would be lying if he said that Sehun’s suggestion had not crossed his mind twice already, but now that it was pretty much his only choice, he was suddenly nervous. He fiddled with his phone, staring at Kyungsoo’s name on his contact list. It would not hurt to ask him, right? They were already friends, right?

He pressed the screen and put the phone against his ear, biting his lip.

The call rang seven times, which felt like an eternity, until Kyungsoo finally picked up.

“Mmh?”

Jongin’s stomach flipped at his raspy voice. He could almost imagine what waking up next to him would be like.

And yes, this was definitely not the right time to be thinking about that.

“Hi, uh… I’m sorry for calling you this early. There’s just some trouble with my apartment, and I was wondering if I could, er, stay with you until Monday? Sehun is visiting his parents in Busan, and there’s no one else I could ask, so…” His voice drifted away.

“Stay here?” Jongin heard bed sheets rustling. “I’ll come pick you up right away. Just give me five minutes to get ready.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again! First of all, I want to thank everyone for their nice comments. It really gives me motivation to continue writing! <3
> 
> To be honest, I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, but I decided to upload it anyway since I felt like it was needed to move the plot further. I also tried to search whether people drink tap water in Seoul or not, but different sources told me different things, so forgive me if it's not something people do there (I know it's nothing major but it still bothers me lol).


	6. Chapter 6

Kyungsoo’s apartment was almost four times the size of Jongin’s. It was like straight out of a home decor magazine: it had light wooden floorboards, and the color scheme was a mix of beige, darker brown and white, with occasional brighter colored things like turquoise pillows on the couch and yellow photo frames in the bookshelf. There were also plants. Lots of plants. It felt… very Kyungsoo-like.

“I need to make a quick phone call to the hospital. Make yourself at home,” Kyungsoo told him and went outside, leaving Jongin alone.

He ventured nervously further into the apartment, sliding his bag off his shoulder, placing it near the wall where it would not be in anyone’s way.

The bookshelf had all kinds of books from Jane Austen to high fantasy novels to medical studies about things, whose names Jongin could not even pronounce. As he moved on to examine the photo frames, he immediately noticed an old family picture of baby Kyungsoo with his parents and another young boy who was probably his brother. But whereas Kyungsoo looked more like his mother, the boy resembled more his father. Jongin smiled. Kyungsoo was still as huggable as he had been back then.

There was also a photo of him and some other boy standing awkwardly in front of a school gate in their middle school uniforms, hair cut into a short bowl-cut, both of them looking like they would rather just go already than pose for a picture. Jongin stared at the other boy. If he squinted hard enough, he could recognize Chanyeol’s facial features behind the thick-rimmed glasses.

A folding screen in the living room separated a small area from the rest of the place, and when he peeked behind the screen he noticed a recording studio setup next to an office desk. He wanted to examine it closer, but it looked like it cost more than his own dear life, so he just settled for watching it from afar. Did Kyungsoo record videos? His voice was perfect for ASMR, but somehow Jongin could not imagine him doing that.

The door creaked opened as Kyungsoo came back inside, switching from his outdoor shoes to a pair of slippers.

“Are you hungry?” he asked. “I can cook something for us.”

“There’s no need–“ Jongin’s stomach growled.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

Jongin followed him into the kitchen, sitting down on a stool at an isle, watching as Kyungsoo rolled his sleeves up, took out some ingredients from the fridge and started washing up the vegetables and the rice. He seemed to know his way around kitchen.

“Do you need any help?”

“You can entertain me while I cook,” Kyungsoo replied.

“What, you want me to dance on the table?”

He snorted and turned on the rice cooker with his back on Jongin. “I meant that you keeping me company by talking is enough, but sure, you can do that if you want.”

“Yeah, sorry, no. I can unlock my inner entertainer only after a few shots of soju, so talking it is.” He rested his chin against his hand. “I noticed earlier that you have a recording studio setup.”

“Hm? Oh, yeah… I sometimes record songs for my own entertainment when I have time,” Kyungsoo explained.

Jongin blinked in surprise. “I had no idea. I thought you made ASMR videos or something similar.”

“Who would want to listen to me speak for hours?” he laughed and bent down to take out a chopping board. Jongin’s eyes followed the movement, landing on Kyungsoo’s back, going lower and lower until he caught himself doing something he should not and tore his gaze away.

“I would,” Jongin muttered, barely speaking aloud, embarrassed of his own action. “Can you sing something for me then?”

“I’m not that good... You’d just feel second-hand embarrassment for me.”

“Please?” He pouted, and Kyungsoo turned around just in time to see that.

“I–“ he started, and then shook his head, giving up. “Fine. I’ll try even though it’s weird without any instruments. What do you want me to sing?”

Jongin thought about it. “What’s your favorite song at the moment?”

“My favorite song?” he repeated. “I… I guess I really like Lee Juck's Don’t Worry, My Dear.”

“Then sing that.”

Kyungsoo cleared his throat, opening his mouth. “ _My dear, don’t worry about anything_ ,” he started shyly, and then he seemed to gain some confidence. “ _Bury all the painful memories deep inside your heart_.”

It was a strange setting, for sure – Kyungsoo singing acappella while chopping down vegetables against the sunlight beaming from the window behind him – but Jongin was mesmerized. The high notes sent shivers down his spine, and he noticed the small changes in his expression during different parts of the song. It was like he was seeing him clearly for the first time.

“ _Say that you dreamed without regrets–_ Okay, that’s all you’re getting for now,” he chuckled. He gave Jongin a quick glance when he stayed silent.

But really, what could he possibly say that would even begin to unravel what he thought about his singing?

“Wow, I– That was incredible,” he uttered. “You should upload videos of you singing on YouTube. You’d become really popular.”

“You think so?” His eyes were glowing, but then the light disappeared. “To be honest, I wanted to become a singer when I was a child.”

“…Not anymore?” Jongin could sense that something was wrong.

Kyungsoo put down the knife and leaned against one of the kitchen counters, taking in a deep breath. “I do. More than anything.” He seemed to struggle to say his next words aloud. “I never actually wanted to become a doctor, but I didn’t have a choice. My father wanted me and my brother to follow in his footsteps. When I told him in middle school that I wanted to start taking singing lessons to become a singer, he got angry and told me to ‘give up on such foolish dreams’. So I… I listened to him and became a medical student. – Sorry, I’m always talking about my father, aren’t I?” He let out a bitter huff,

“It’s okay,” Jongin hurried to say. Looking at Kyungsoo’s pained expression – which he tried to hide by turning away and continuing cooking – made his heart ache, and he wished there was some way to comfort him. “You know, my parents told me the exact same thing.”

“They did?”

He had to let Kyungsoo know that he understood him, although he hated bringing those memories back to the surface. “Yeah. They were fine with me dancing as a hobby, but when I got a letter from our university that said that I had received an athletic scholarship to major in dancing, they told me that if I accepted it and didn’t study economics like they had wanted me to, they’d want nothing to do with me anymore.” His father’s harsh words still echoed in his head. “I haven’t heard from them ever since I left home.”

It had involved a lot of shouting and door-slamming from both Jongin and his parents. He had packed his bags after that night and spent the rest of the days at Sehun’s house until the university had started. Sehun’s parents had always been much more open-minded, and they had always welcomed Jongin with open arms and treated him like their own child. He owed them a lot.

Kyungsoo looked at him, eyes full of compassion. “Jongin… I’m so sorry.”

He smiled and shook his head. “It’s funny how people never see art as an acceptable career choice, no matter how serious you are about it. But I guess what I’m trying to say is that even though family is important, sometimes you need to put yourself first. Trying to live up to everyone’s expectations won’t make anyone happy in the long run.”

Kyungsoo quietly stirred the soup he had prepared. “You’re right.”

The atmosphere had become really serious, and although Jongin was happy that Kyungsoo had finally opened up to him, he did not want this to ruin their day.

“Anyway,” he started, changing the topic, “The food smells good. How long until it’s ready?”

“I still have to fry the fish, so a few more minutes. You can set the table while you’re waiting.”

Jongin started rummaging through the cabinets, happy that he was needed.

As Kyungsoo had promised, it did not take long for the food to be ready.

“What’s something you’ve always wanted to do but never had the opportunity?” Jongin asked while trying to eat everything at the same time. “This is delicious, by the way. You’re an amazing cook.”

“I’m glad,” Kyungsoo hummed. “And about your other question… I don’t really know. Well, I’ve always wanted to dye my hair, but I’m not sure if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Really? Which color?”

“Maybe red. Or brown. Red has been on my mind the longest, though.”

Jongin took a sip from his soup bowl, an idea forming in his head. “Should we do it?”

Kyungsoo was about to put rice in his mouth, but he stopped mid-way with wide eyes. “What?”

“Let’s dye your hair! I’ve dyed Sehun’s hair before, so I know how to do it.”

“That’s crazy,” Kyungsoo stated, but then his lips turned into a small smirk. “Let’s do it.”

Convincing him had been much easier than Jongin had expected. After they had finished eating, they drove to the nearest supermarket and bought hair bleach and a red hair dye. Kyungsoo had hesitated slightly as they had queued to the cash register, staring at the hair color packages in his hand, looking almost _guilty_ , but he had bought them anyway. Jongin was proud.

“So how exactly are we going to do this?” Kyungsoo asked once they were both standing in the bathroom, the insides of the packages laid out in front of them.

“First of all, we should both probably take off our… uh…” Jongin had not thought this through. “Take off our shirts? The color might leave stains on them otherwise. It’s going to be a nightmare to try to wash them off.” _God_ , he still managed to make it sound like this had been his plan all along.

Kyungsoo gave him a look that he had absolutely no clue how to read – it was a mix of awkwardness and curiousness and something else – and then he pulled his shirt over his head. “Is it easier for you if I sit down?”

“Um, yeah.”

There were five small moles at the back of Kyungsoo’s neck, shaped like a constellation, and it took all of Jongin’s willpower to resist the temptation to trail his finger over them.

He took off his own shirt as well and pulled on a pair of rubber gloves, browsing through the instructions that had come with the packages.

“The bleach should be left in for about forty minutes,” he informed. “Tell me immediately if your scalp starts hurting. Some people might have an allergic reaction to hair dye, especially bleach, and I don’t want the only person in this room who knows about medical stuff to pass out or anything.”

“Sounds serious. Why did I let you talk me into this?”

“Because you’ve apparently wanted this for a long time, and now is the perfect time to do it.”

He managed to distract himself from their half-nakedness for the first ten minutes, but then his torso brushed against Kyungsoo’s back, and the brief skin-contact made his whole body flush hot like he was an awkward 14-year-old teenager again touching his crush for the first time.

And then _,_ as he applied more bleach, _Kyungsoo actually leaned into his touch._

He could not believe that someone could make him feel this way.

“It’s… yellow,” Kyungsoo stated as he examined his new hair after they had washed everything off.

Jongin cracked up. The yellow look was hideous.

“And you dare to laugh at me?” Kyungsoo hit his arm lightly, but he could not help but smile either.

“Sorry, sorry. Let’s put on the red color next.”

The texture of the red color was more liquidy than the bleach’s, and it kept dripping all over his hands and Kyungsoo’s neck and the floor and their trousers even though Jongin tried his best. In the end they were both covered in red stains, and apparently Kyungsoo found it hilarious since his shoulders started shaking with muffled laughter as he turned his head to look at them in the mirror.

Jongin was annoyed about his ruined college pants, but seeing Kyungsoo so genuinely happy made it worth it.

“Stay still, I’ll try to get most of the dye off your skin,” Jongin ordered as he started wiping him with a wet rag.

Kyungsoo jerked abruptly when Jongin moved to wipe his neck, and his head hit Jongin’s chest, leaving a splatter of dye there.

“Hyung!”

“Sorry, I can’t help it. My neck is really ticklish,” he laughed.

Jongin touched it again just to see his reaction, and Kyungsoo grabbed his hand.

“Now you’re just doing it on purpose!”

“Maybe,” he grinned.

“Show some respect for your elders.”

“Yes, hyung.”

After they both had taken a shower to get rid of the stains on their skin, Jongin found himself glancing at Kyungsoo more often than what was necessary. The red color made him look _hot_. Especially when he ran a hand through his hair.

Shit.

Was Kyungsoo even aware of what he was doing to him?

They ended up playing Playstation 4 games and watching movies for the rest of the day. Jongin noted that Kyungsoo’s taste in movies was quite similar to his, and he even owned a complete set of Studio Ghibli movies. He did not seem to mind either that Jongin talked during the movies and told him theories about what was going on, which was a relief since Jongin had had people tell him to shut up and stop being annoying before.

The couch they were sitting on was perfect for napping – the cushions were so fluffy and soft that you could just sink into them, and at one point Jongin’s eyelids started getting dangerously heavy. Having the lights dimmed down did not help either.

He blinked rapidly to keep himself awake – it was only eight in the evening, for God’s sake – but when the movie suddenly jumped from an action scene to the ending credits, he realized that he had dozed off. Typical.

Then he felt a head thud against his shoulder, and suddenly he was wide awake.

“Kyungsoo-hyung?” he whispered but got no response.

Shifting on the couch, careful not to disturb him, he slowly changed Kyungsoo’s position so that he was lying down with his head on Jongin’s lap since it would be more comfortable for both of them. Kyungsoo immediately nuzzled into him in his sleep, and Jongin felt overwhelmed by the butterflies it caused in his stomach.

It was hard to breathe. Kyungsoo was _so close_. The scent of his jasmine shampoo made his head spin.

How was he supposed to fall asleep like this?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello!
> 
> Okay so the reason why I haven’t described the characters’ appearance that much before is because I wanted everyone to be able to imagine them like they wanted to, but I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity of making Kyungsoo red-haired in this chapter lol.
> 
> I hope you’re enjoying the story so far! I honestly can’t thank you enough for taking interest in my fic. I love you all! I have some important school stuff coming up soon, so I'm not sure how long the next update is going to take, but I'll try my best to continue writing as often as possible.


	7. Chapter 7

Kyungsoo was still sleeping on Jongin’s lap when the outside started to get lighter.

Jongin had sent Sehun a panicked message last night, and Sehun, being the supportive friend he was, had replied with three laughing emojis and left him on read after that.

Jongin had woken up every half an hour to check that Kyungsoo had not rolled off the couch, and at some point of the night his legs had become numb from staying in the same position for so long, but Kyungsoo looked so peaceful that he had not dared to disturb his sleep.

When Jongin moved his head, a sharp pain ran down his neck, making him draw in a short breath. He could not turn it left or up because it hurt too much. Kyungsoo’s eyes fluttered open, and it took him three full seconds to realize where he was. He jumped up, opening and closing his mouth, looking between Jongin and Jongin’s lap. The fabric of Jongin’s pants had left an imprint on his cheek.

“Jongin, I’m so sorry, I was so sleepy yesterday and I was just going to close my eyes for a second– I didn’t think–“

Jongin laughed despite it hurting. “It’s okay, hyung, I don’t mind it.” Since his legs were finally free, he stretched them out and pressed his neck, trying to find the place where it hurt the most.

Kyungsoo’s brows furrowed with worry. “Does your neck hurt?”

“Not really. It’s just stiff. It’ll probably get better soon.”

“Still, it’s all because of me… Let me at least give you a massage.” 

He did not take no for an answer, so Jongin had no choice but to move to sit on the floor in front of the couch between Kyungsoo’s legs and let him do his thing. He hugged a pillow against his chest as Kyungsoo’s long fingers started gently massaging his neck. The tense muscles relaxed under his magical touch, although it hurt from time to time when he touched a stiff spot.

It was sheer bliss.

“What do you want to do today?” Kyungsoo asked, moving from Jongin’s neck to his shoulders.

“Mmmm,” Jongin hummed, and then he realized that Kyungsoo had asked something. “I need to go to the dance studio at eleven, but after that we can do whatever you want.”

“Oh? Can I come watch you practise?”

“Uh,” he paused, trying to come up with an excuse, “I’m sure you’ll get bored of watching me for an hour. I won’t be even using any music yet.”

“Well, too bad, because I’m still coming. You got to hear me sing, so it’s only fair that I get to see you dance.” Jongin could not see him, but he was pretty sure that there was a smug smile on his face. “Should we go shopping after that? I need new shoes.”

“Sounds like a plan. I’m good at giving my opinion on what looks good.”

“Alright, but don’t judge too hard. I’d like to keep some of the confidence I have, thank you very much.”

As if he did not look good in everything he wore, Jongin thought.

Mina was finishing up her practice as Jongin and Kyungsoo arrived to the dance studio. She greeted them with a smile, wiping sweat off her face with a towel, eyeing Kyungsoo curiously and then turning to Jongin.

“He’s cute,” she whispered behind her hand.

Jongin raised his eyebrows. He knew that Mina was not serious, but he still could not help playfully stating, “Hands off.”

“Easy there, tiger,” Mina threw her hands up. “I meant that as in you’d make a cute coup–”

He cleared his throat loudly. “Anyway, I’ll see you tomorrow in class.”

Mina got the clue, chuckling on her way out of the studio.

Jongin tried not to show it, but he was as nervous as always before a class presentation now that Mina had left and it was only the two of them. His palms were sweaty and movements tense as he took off his jumper and started stretching his legs. He could feel Kyungsoo’s eyes on him. 

Usually he did not mind the attention, but this time was different. He knew that Kyungsoo would not judge if he did something wrong, but he wanted him to see him only at his best. It was a big deal for him to let someone see him while everything was a ‘work-in-progress’. 

He took a deep breath and shut out his surroundings. Although the choreography was still unfinished, he had memorized half of it already. And he still had plenty of time to think about the rest later.

Recalling the tempo of the song he had chosen for the competition, he counted to four over and over again in his mind as he started dancing, trying to fit his movements to the beat. He had to stop a dozen times to correct his body into the right position, and another dozen times he had to start all over again after messing everything up, but slowly the choreography was coming together. 

He made the mistake of letting his gaze slip to Kyungsoo in the mirror, and their eyes met just as he did a suggestive body roll with his hand sliding on his stomach towards his crotch.

Why he had thought that it would be a good idea to add a body roll to his choreography while Kyungsoo was watching, neither did he himself know.

Kyungsoo pretended that there was something interesting on the ceiling, and Jongin, with his face burning, finished the rest of the dance and made sure that his eyes did not wander anymore. 

There it was again – the weird tension that followed them everywhere.

“You’re, um, pretty good at what you do,” commented Kyungsoo.

“Are you saying that just because I complimented your singing yesterday?” Jongin teased, making Kyungsoo roll his eyes.

“I take back what I said then.”

“I’m suddenly deaf, sorry. Can’t hear you.”

“Just hurry up,” Kyungsoo laughed. “The hour is almost up.”

Jongin picked up his shirt from the floor. “I think I’m done for today. You wanted to go shopping, right? Then let’s go.”

They went to the same mall where they had met up for the first time since they both agreed that it was one of the best around the area.

At first Kyungsoo tried his best to look for new shoes, trying some of them on, but it did not take long for the search to turn into a competition of who could find the most hideous accessories and clothes and make the other wear them.

“You should try these, hyung,” Jongin said as he placed a pair of green alien-eye sunglasses on Kyungsoo’s nose, bursting into cackles of laughter before he could even take a good look at him.

“Very futuristic,” he stated with a serious face as he looked in the mirror, but Jongin could see the corner of his mouth twitching.

As they exited the store, Kyungsoo told Jongin to extend his hand and placed a small box there.

“What’s this?” asked Jongin, not sure what to expect after goofing around with so many weird accessories earlier.

Opening the lid revealed a simple leather bracelet.

“It’s a gift to, you know, bring you good luck,” Kyungsoo said. “I have a similar one too.” He raised his hand to show the bracelet on his wrist.

Jongin was speechless. “When did you have time to buy this? I didn’t see you do it.”

“While you were trying on the jeans with flowers on them.”

They both laughed, and Jongin thanked him as he helped him to put it on. It was just a bracelet, but somehow it felt like it was something more – like a token of their friendship. But did friends just randomly buy each other matching bracelets? He and Sehun only had matching toothbrushes, and that was only because Jongin’s toothbrush was a spare one from Sehun’s bathroom cabinet.

Kyungsoo nudged Jongin’s side. “Isn’t that Chanyeol?”

“Where?”

“Right there sitting by the fountain. Black-and-white striped shirt and a black cap.”

Jongin scanned the crowd until he found the person Kyungsoo had described. He could not see his face clearly since the cap was covering the upper part of it, but the way his ears stuck out under the cap was familiar. He had to be Chanyeol.

As they walked closer, it became clear that he was crying.

“Chanyeol?” Kyungsoo called him with a soft tone.

Chanyeol got startled by him, quickly wiping his puffy eyes. “Oh, Kyungsoo, Jongin. I wasn’t expecting to see you here. What’s up?” He sniffed and put on a grin on his face. “Wait – there’s something different about you.” He stared at Kyungsoo, and then a light bulb went on over his head. “Your hair! What happened?”

“Jongin happened,” he chuckled shyly.

“Well done, Jongin. I’ve been trying to convince him to dye his hair for years!”

Jongin and Kyungsoo exchanged worried looks, nodding at each other. 

“Do you want to have dinner with us?” Jongin asked.

“Well, I–“

“Of course you do.” Kyungsoo interrupted. “Let’s go to the barbecue house that you like. We can use my car.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long time no see! I'm well aware of how long it's been since the last time I updated this fic and I apologize for that. There's been some stuff going on in my life, and I haven't felt like writing anything in ages. I'm still thankful for all the new readers this story has gotten, and I hope you liked this chapter. The next one will (hopefully) be uploaded here in a few weeks, so until then, I thank you all for reading and hope you'll leave a comment!
> 
> On another note, I'm super excited for EXO's comeback hsgkrfgj I MEAN- A BIKER THEME? SIGN ME THE FUCK UP!


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